BENEDICT COLLEGE

Dr. Akilah R. Carter-Francique (Ph.D., University of Georgia) joined Benedict College in the fall 2022 as the Dean of the School of Education, Health and Human Services. With 20 years of experience in higher education, an extensive research background, and a strong vision for leadership in the field of education, Carter-Francique served sporting spaces that center experiences of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Carter-Francique examines issues of race, gender, social class, and their intersections with sport, education, and society. She has presented at regional, national, and international conferences and written several articles and book chapters across academic disciplines to include being the co-editor of Athletic Experience at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Past, Present, and Persistence and Critical Race Theory: Black Athletic Experiences in the United States. Carter-Francique serves as a research council member and consultant with Laureus “Sport for Good”; academic advisory council member for Athlete Voices; advisory committee member with Adapted Sport LABS; co-organizer with the Wall of Song Project; editorial board member for the Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics & the Sport Social Work Journal; 2018-2019 President of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport; and co-founder of Francique Sport and Education Consulting, LLC with her husband Alleyne Francique, OBE, OLY. 

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Abigail Eiler, LMSW, MSW, QMHP, IMGCA-II, is a licensed clinical social worker, educator, and high-performance specialist with more than 20 years of experience serving tribal and non-tribal communities across the United States, Canada and the UK. She is a Clinical Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of Undergraduate Educational Programs at the University of Michigan. Professor Eiler teaches in the MSW and PhD programs and in the Community Action and Social Change Undergraduate Minor. Her work is grounded social justice frameworks, centering privilege, oppression, diversity, and social justice (PODS) in both pedagogy and practice. She previously held executive leadership roles within Michigan Athletics, including Chief Diversity Officer, Assistant/Associate Athletic Director, and Director of Mental Health & High Performance. In these roles, she led culturally responsive mental health initiatives that supported student-athletes and coaches during record-breaking conference championships, including four team national titles and several individual accolades. Eiler has achieved Scholar-level Clinical Distinction from Michigan Medicine and has supported over $20 million in research focused on youth mental health and sexual citizenship education. She continues to work with youth, collegiate, and professional athletes, including recently serving as a mental health and mental skills provider for the Detroit Lions and an MLB organization.

BLAQUESMITH PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSULTIVE SERVICES, INC.

R. (Ramel) Kweku Akyirefi Smith, PhD is the President and CEO of BLAQUESMITH Psychological Consultative Services, Inc. He earned his Doctorate around Urban Education with an emphasis in School Psychology from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in 2003. Smith has worked as a clinical psychologist at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Trauma Department, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and has served as a negotiator for the SWAT Team. A clinical psychologist by trade, Dr. Smith has had the opportunity to develop his skill set in varying arenas throughout his career. Smith served as the full-time Team Psychologist for the Milwaukee Bucks where he provided clinical services to the players and coaching staff; conducted assessments and interviews for the Combine and Draft and served as a general mental health resource for the organization. Smith is used regularly for Nike’s EYBL to provide training for players, coaches and parents. He’s contracted with NFL teams to help address multiple topics for the Rookie symposium and served on the NFL Clinical Advisory Team. Recently, Smith worked with the University of Wisconsin Badgers as a Senior Clinical and Sport Psychologist and served as the Director, Sport Psychology & Elite Artist Coaching (SPEAC). In his current position with the USOPC, Dr Smith supports our US athletes in their individual pursuits of Olympic gold. better outcomes for all.

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

Dr. Polo DeCano serves as the Wellness Services Coordinator for the University of Washington Athletic Department, where he works at the intersection of clinical care, performance psychology, and student-athlete wellbeing. His work focuses on building sustainable systems that promote early intervention, crisis prevention, and culturally informed mental health support across diverse teams. In addition to creating a Resilience Framework that underpins an Intro to Resilience Course for College students taught at the University of Washington for over 10 years and teaching a course for College athletics coaches, he leads department-wide initiatives—including suicide prevention training, wellbeing activations, and trainings--to strengthen resilience, belonging, and community within athletics. With a background in developmental psychology and years of experience supporting high‑performance collegiate athletes, Dr. DeCano integrates evidence‑based therapeutic approaches with applied sport psychology to enhance mental health literacy and performance readiness. He is dedicated to training coaches, staff, and student leaders to recognize risk, support peers, and build environments where athletes can thrive both on and off the field.

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON

Dr. Emmett Gill Jr. joined University of Houston Athletics as its Mental Health Counselor in February 2024. In his role, Dr. Gill assists Houston student-athletes in addressing emotional issues including focus on improved self-esteem, behavioral changes and enhanced mental well-being. He previously worked at Vibrant Emotional Health as its Professional Sports Crisis & Wellness Program Manager. There, he developed evaluation methods for NFL Mental Health Event Action Plans (MHEAPs) and reviewed, evaluated, and improved initial MHEAPs for all 32 NFL teams. Gill Jr. also assisted with the reporting of monthly and semi-annual NFL LifeLine utilization data. Additionally, he worked with the NBA and NHL alongside league personnel on mental health and wellness training and health provision proposals. Gill Jr. spent 2 ½ years at the University of Texas as its Director of Student-Athlete Wellness & Personal Development where he worked with all sports to provide clinical services and develop/coordinate injured student-athlete and substance abuse initiatives. He also organized programming to promote successful student-athlete transitions and advocated for student-athletes athletically, academically and personally. As the President & Executive Director of the Alliance of Social Workers in Sport, he developed a certificate program to train social workers in providing services to athletes.